B&G Zeus2 MFD

[muttskie]

Ahoy,
I'm interested in these MFDs and considering a 12" one for my PS 37. Has anyone installed one yet? Any comments or opinions?

[Mycroft]

Following. I'm also looking at upgrading to N2K and not sure of which line to go with.

[teapot]

just ordered the baby 7 inch version of this, I will let you know what I think(I can pretend it's a 12 inch by standing a bit closer I guess!)

[JayH]

I got a 7" Zeus2 as soon as they came out. I had a Lowrance HDS-7m Gen2 prior to that, and there are a lot of similarities, so I was already pretty used to a Navico chartplotter.

I do like the Zeus2, but maybe not as much as I expected to. I was looking forward to the SailSteer and layline features, but find that I really don't use them that much.

This is my first touchscreen plotter, and I really like that. Super easy and fast to pan, zoom, select items on the chart, enter waypoint names, etc. No problems using the screen in rain, but the SD card door may not be as waterproof as it needs to be. I had to have my unit replaced and I think moisture in the card slot may have been a factor.

Probably my single favorite feature is how it can calculate current direction and speed, but you have to have the paddlewheel calibrated perfectly for it to work correctly.

I have not yet upgraded my radar, but I'm looking forward to having that integrated.

I wish Navico had a better tactical display of AIS information. I recently had to dodge three ships at once and was constantly working the plotter to monitor them all. It doesn't tell you if they're crossing ahead or behind.

I wish you could edit routes by dragging the waypoints around. It seems the only way to move a waypoint is by editing the coordinates, which I think is unnecessarily painful.

The charts it comes with are not worth much. Be prepared to buy charts. I already had a Navionics Platinum+ chip, but also bought C-MAP MAX-N charts with Explorer data in the Bahamas. Both work great. When buying a C-MAP chart, you can select Zeus Touch for your type of plotter (if they haven't added Zeus2 by then). It works.

I have a couple gripes about esoteric issues:

Changing from the HDS to the Zeus2 seriously degraded the signal quality from my old LWX-1 satellite receiver, so I think the Zeus2 is electrically noisy. My unit doesn't display weather data from the LWX-1, but I'm not certain that it isn't a signal quality problem. I will probably try moving the LWX-1 before shelling out for a WM-3.

I also wrongly assumed that Tritons & Zeus units would be able to display port and starboard depths. Alas, they cannot. Maybe a software upgrade some day will allow it.

[colemj]

Originally Posted by JayH

I wish Navico had a better tactical display of AIS information. I recently had to dodge three ships at once and was constantly working the plotter to monitor them all. It doesn't tell you if they're crossing ahead or behind.

I wish you could edit routes by dragging the waypoints around. It seems the only way to move a waypoint is by editing the coordinates, which I think is unnecessarily painful.

I also wrongly assumed that Tritons & Zeus units would be able to display port and starboard depths. Alas, they cannot. Maybe a software upgrade some day will allow it.

The AIS thing was discussed in another thread. You can set the COG predictor lines for your ship and other targets to be longer and that helps show if targets will pass ahead or behind. Try increasing these to 30min.

Maybe have another look at the manual. You can drag waypoints around within a route.

I don't understand what you mean by port and starboard depths? Do you have a catamaran with transducers in each hull? If so, you can use two Tritons (or a Triton and the Zeus) to show both - just select one transducer source on one display and the other transducer source on the second display.

Mark

[JayH]

Originally Posted by colemj

Maybe have another look at the manual. You can drag waypoints around within a route.

I don't understand what you mean by port and starboard depths? Do you have a catamaran with transducers in each hull? If so, you can use two Tritons (or a Triton and the Zeus) to show both - just select one transducer source on one display and the other transducer source on the second display.

Thanks Mark, I looked at the manual and tried again. I did not look for a "route edit" option in the menu before. It does allow the waypoints to be dragged.

For the COG predictor to be useful, the time of the prediction would have to be exactly the same as the TCPA. Then if the lines cross he will pass behind, if they don't then he'll pass ahead. The Zeus' COG prediction lines are not graduated, so not very helpful if the CPA is close and the times don't match.

Yes, I have depth transducers in each hull. But no, you cannot select one transducer on one Triton and a different transducer on another Triton. When you select a source ALL Tritons switch to that source. I have confirmed with Navico support that the Tritons cannot support dual depth transducers.

I do see there is an "Aft Depth" source in the Zeus, hinting that some type of dual-depth is possible there, but I don't know how to take advantage of it.

[muttskie]

Jay and Mark,
Both very helpful posts. Thank you. I had a Zeus T7 on my Dana and had wondered what improvements the Zeus 2 offered over the original Zeus Touch. It seems that the display shape and more efficient physical layout are the only significant changes. Maybe some minor tweaks to the software, too.

[colemj]

Originally Posted by JayH

But no, you cannot select one transducer on one Triton and a different transducer on another Triton. When you select a source ALL Tritons switch to that source. I have confirmed with Navico support that the Tritons cannot support dual depth transducers.

I don't have the ability to check this right now, but I seem to recall that the Tritons can be set to either be networked to each other, or left as individuals. When networked, changes done with one, such as backlighting, sleep, sources, etc propagate to the others. When left as individuals, changes only take place on the specific unit you make them on.

If this is so, then choosing to leave one as an individual will allow a different source to be chosen for it.

Your other option is to create a small isolated network just for your second depth transducer and connect a Triton to it.

Mark

[JayH]

You are correct that the Triton has groups. But I tested and they are only for lighting.

I did find a way to display both depths with the Zeus2. I simply had to select my second transducer as the "aft depth". It is slightly annoying that I can't rename it to "port depth".

I can display them side-by-side, but I have to give up valuable space on my right-side bar, or split-screen my chart with an instrument page, which is not ideal. It would be great when I'm trying to find my way in shallow water to have my chart fullscreen with the two depth readings overlaid in the upper corners. The HDS had this data overlay feature...

[cowelld]

Has anyone been able to generate their own chart AT5 files and have the Zeus2 recognize them? I have the Nautic Pro V15 card which is accepted but homemade AT5's seem to be ignored. My files don't include all the layered information but just the graphical images.

[CAELESTIS]

I installed a Z2 12in. Easy to install and works like a dream. Not one single problem. I have Raymarine max view repeaters and a Vesper Watchmate talking to the Z2 thru the Ray seatalk to seatalkng converter and an Actisense box. Just added a Fusion UD750 that also talks to the Z2 via NMEA2000.

[smac999]

Originally Posted by JayH

I do see there is an "Aft Depth" source in the Zeus, hinting that some type of dual-depth is possible there, but I don't know how to take advantage of it.

you can select one of the transducers as the aft depth source and show both. you'd just have to remember which is which. IE "depth" is port and "aft depth" is stb.

if they were both the same transducers it might to tricky to know which is which in the source selection proccess. if you hooked up only one at a time it woudln't be too bad. hook one up. select it as depth, hook other one up, select it as aft depth.

I have hooked up 2 transducers to a zeus but it really was an aft depth. (used for reversing / stern tying) and the aft was 183 vs n2k for main depth. so it was easy to pick in source list

I'm betting the tritons can display aft depth as well. so you could probably make a split screen with depth and aft depth. it would work, just wrong names on screen


edit: wow old thread....

[so34chi]

I acquired a Z2-12 upon introduction 22 months ago and mounted it under the aft end of the cockpit table a year ago. I acquired a Z2-7 for the nav station over the past winter. My 12 stopped communicating NMEA-2K a year ago and was replaced under warranty. Seamless integration of the Z2 and 4G radar saved us in pea soup last summer. Still much to learn about the units. Had I to do it all over again, I would use the Z2-9 under the cockpit table, as the 12 gets bumped by passing legs more than I'd like. Voyageur now has the complete B7G/Simrad instrument suite, though the forward scan sonar will have to wait 'til next season.